Parents can take their children to the spots to have their iris scanned. If a child who is registered on the database goes missing and is found, an iris scan will be able to quickly determine his or her identity, much faster than DNA identification.

"New scanning technology does not require the user to stand up close to the machine. A simple glance at the machine, even from some distance, will suffice and it can be done in a second," said Wang Xiaopeng, founder of EyeSmart, reported ECNS.

"The speed of iris recognition will greatly expedite the process of registration and identification of a lost child, as well as lowering the cost," Wang said.

According to Wang, researchers have identified the iris as the single most unique biometric feature of a human visible externally, more unique than fingerprints and DNA.

He said a pilot program involving iris scans of 1,000 children has been launched by EyeSmart. Parents of the children, none of who have gone missing, praised the program.